I like what a teacher friend had done to his P-bass when he was young & dumb(his words): he had stripped it & re-'finished' it w/linseed oil. It looked cool, though I would only do something like that if I came into a half-started project, and I would use tung oil.

For my 'traditional' style basses I prefer Nitro...same with guitars. They just feel and look and age better with nitro. My Ice blue metallic has aged to a lovely off-green color...and that wouldn't have happened with poly.

For more modern stuff, I think Poly is ok, since it tends to look better longer and wears tougher.

I prefer lacquer. I've done basses with both poly and nitro and I think lacquer is a better finish for instruments because it builds better and I prefer that thick finish. Some people say poly provides protection and gives a better 'sound' because it's more flexible and allows the wood to vibrate ....I don't agree that it makes a difference in sound, but to each it's own. But poly is ok for an easy to do finish and less toxic dangers.